Compromised!
by thenopetrain
Summary: When the team is compromised after their latest job, Nate goes to get Sophie in order to save her from hitmen that were sent to kill her while the others wait for them at a safehouse in the countryside of London. Rating is T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

Pounding on the door startled her awake. Immediately shooting up from the bed with her heart racing a mile a minute, Sophie glanced at the time, her eyes beginning to glare into the darkness that surrounded her at 3:15 in the morning. _Don't people have any common curtesy these days?_ She sighed as she turned the bedside lamp on and instantly regretted doing so when the light momentarily blinded her. The banging continued until she was forced to quicken her step in order to get to the door so the noise would stop; of which seemed ominously loud and urgent at this time of day. When she got to the door, her eye peeking through the peephole while her hands tied the cinch to the robe around her waist, she gasped. Fumbling with the locks in her strife, Sophie managed to fling the door open and glance up at Nate in shock and worry.

"No one died this time right?" Her eyes wide with the fear of the answer, but before she could say anything more she was pushed back into her room as gently as possible and the door was quietly shut and locked. "Nate what are you – are you alright?" She hadn't noticed before but he was panting as if he had run a mile and there was a cut above his left eye.

"We have to leave. We have to go right now." He stated as he whipped around, the miniscule wince as he did so not going unnoticed but simply being ignored for the moment as anger and suspicion rose inside the grifter.

"Oh-ho no. No, if this is some sort of trick to get me to come back then you can forget it!" She had taken up her stubborn stance; arms on her hips, eye brow cocked in a speculative manner. Before she could do much else, his blue eyes had locked onto her and she fidgeted, finding his gaze uncomfortable and far too serious for her to be angry with.

"Soph, this isn't a joke. I'll explain everything once we get out of here, okay? Can you please get dressed?" Nathan sounded more than a little desperate, more than a little stressed, worried, and any of the other things that come along with fear. This was probably what scared her most, the fear on his face, the kind of emotion that made him look exhausted. For a few moments more they stared at each other, Sophie studying him intently before mumbling an agreement as she rushed towards her bedroom and grabbed the jeans she had had on last night, a tight fitting cream shirt and a brown leather jacket. _Not my first choice of clothing…_ But she figured if this was as serious as it sounded then she would need more durable clothes. She was just about to grab her makeup from her bathroom when she decided against it and exited the room to find Nate leaning against the wall by the door; his eyes closed tightly shut.

"Nate?" He jumped a bit, startled by her sudden reappearance as if he had been caught in the act of something. His left arm slid out from under his jacket, away from his side and behind his back, but she didn't have time to question him as he ushered her out the door; grabbing her purse as he did so.

The mastermind led her down the back staircase of the building in order to get to the front of it; a maneuver that would hopefully confuse whom ever, he was sure, was following them. Sophie, thank God, hadn't pressed the matter as they sped down the stairwell and out into a hallway that was only lit by a couple of lights. Still breathing heavily, Nate took a right, heading towards the lobby and out to the car he had waiting for them by the street. With Sophie following closely, he flashed the keys, opened her door for her and jogged around to the right side of the car in order to drive. London sure had its perks. For a moment he found himself reminiscing about the old cat and mouse games they had used to play here; running down alleyways, getting mixed up in the Tube. He sat down almost tenderly and didn't even bother to fasten the seat belt as he floored the gas, causing the car to leap into action a moment later. For a few minutes they drove in silence, Nathan's left hand cradled underneath his jacket again while his right steered the car out of traffic and towards the countryside.

"I think it's time you told me what's going on." Even though her voice attempted to sound firm and commanding, there was the slight note of worry plaguing the tone, giving away her anxiety for such an unorthodox departure.

"Someone's after the team." Not even a second after she had asked the question did he answer her. Sophie could do nothing more but stare, a million questions popping into her head: Why? Did they know who it was?

"Is everyone else alright?" Her eyes wide with concern, voice timid for fear of the answer.

"Ya, ya, everyone's fine. Elliot came to the headquarters after fending off some guys in masks, told us we had been compromised because they knew his name. We had to escape through that secret tunnel they built in my apartment." It was only during this last little speech that Sophie regarded Nate in a new perspective. _The wall…his arm_. He was sweating, his voice much more raspy and tired than it usually was. In fact, it was almost as if he was straining to talk. It was only when he had to turn the car right did she notice the grimace spread across his face.

"Are you alright?" she asked, leaning towards him to try and get a better look at what he seemed to be hiding under his jacket.

"'M fine." He mumbled almost as if her were half asleep.

"Nate…" She warned, her hand gently pulling his left arm out from under his coat.

"Don't, it's just a scratch. Okay? There were guys out in the alleyway behind your apartment; I hadn't expected them to get to you so fast." As if that made everything all right while he gave a small tug of his arm to place it back where it had been. But Sophie had seen enough to scoff in disbelief.

"Mhm, and I suppose all that blood has nothing to do with getting in a fight? Nate you're sweating, you can barely stay awake! At least let me drive." She tried a sensible approach towards the problem, attempting to keep the worry and nervousness at bay beneath the surface as she tried to take charge.

"You don't know where we're going." He answered matter-of-factly.

"Then why don't you tell me? Seriously, Nate you're hurt and-" Nathan suddenly cursed when two pairs of bright headlights flared up in the rearview mirror. Sophie looked back to see two cars speeding up from behind them, gaining fast. Nathan floored the gas once more to stay as far ahead as they could. They had been heading towards the tracks, a safe house that the team had had recently set up because it was off the chart. One hundred yards away from the crossing and it was the first time Nate had noticed the train; Its light glaring into the darkness to his right.

Seventy yards. The speedometer read 90 as he continued to speed along the countryside, the two cars still after them, and now only ten yards back. Gunfire shattered the back window to their car and both the grifter and mastermind ducked, Nathan pushing harder on the gas as if the car would gain speed faster.

Forty yards.

"Nate.." Sophie was leaning back, attempting to push herself into the seat as far as possible. "Nate." Her arm reached out to grab his shoulder. "Nate we're not going to make it!" She shouted, turning to look at him for a split second and then back to the train they were trying to beat.

"We'll make it!" He yelled back.

Ten yards. The train was laying on the horn, a loud dare and warning to the cars zooming towards it. The front of their car leapt over the tracks, and for a brief second Sophie went to sigh before the locomotive rammed the back end of the vehicle, spinning them off the road and making the car roll into the grass, laying sideways as it settled in a ditch.

The two cars giving chase slammed on their brakes, the men cursing inside both of the vehicles as they witnessed the maniacal event that had just occurred. With their guns drawn, the men opened the doors to stand by and wait, knowing that as soon as the train had passed they would be able to finally finish their job.

Sophie's world was a blur as she unhooked herself from her seat and abruptly fell to her right; not realizing that the car had been thrown onto its side. A soft groan came from under her before she pulled herself upwards, reaching for passenger side door handle above her. After using the center consol as leverage to perch on, she shoved her hands at Nate; attempting furiously to wake up the unconscious man from below.

"Nate! Nate, get up. Come on…that's it." As he stirred she grabbed his arm, helping to hoist him up as she started to climb out of the car. The engine had been sparking for quite some time and as her feet landed on the soft grass it caught fire. A new kind of urgency replaced the shock of what had just happened as she helped Nate out of the car, allowing him to lean against her for support as he seemed to not be able to so himself. They watched the train, both seeming to have the same idea.

"Come on." Nate grunted as he lurched forward, pushing himself into a run with Sophie's hand in his. A few of the crates were open, they just needed to catch the side and hop on. Five cars back, illuminated by the moon, was a door to the side that had been open. He ran along the train, glancing back as the car cam closer and closer and just when he thought he couldn't run anymore, his hand reached out and grabbed the side, while Sophie attempted to grab onto him just as he had jumped. For a second it looked as though they would fall, his strength dwindling at the pain in his side but Sophie's extra weight was already leaving him. She had climbed up into the car, her shoes thunking on the wooden flooring. All he could hear was the rush of the wind as she tried to call out to him, but he got her meaning. He grasped her hand and was helped into the train car where he collapsed onto his back. They were both breathing hard after the rush of adrenaline and the shock of what had happened only a few minutes ago. Sophie watched as the car they had been driving caught fully aflame, highlighting the characters that were after them.

"I think…it's safe to say we lost them." She stated with a bit of humor to her voice, a smile jumping to her lips but before it could reach her eyes she found Nate attempting to move off towards the corner in the back. She hadn't even noticed the hay scattered around the bottom of the car until he stumbled and fell against the wall; using his shoulder to cushion the landing. Sophie was at his side in a second, her hands brushing the stray lock of hair from his sweaty and bleeding face.

"Nate, darling, open your eyes." His eyes fluttered open for a moment before he clutched at his right side, a low moan coming from him as he gasped in pain. She gently rolled him onto his back, using some of the hay to support his head before she carefully lifted the side of his jacket that had been concealing the wound. Her stomach clenched in fear at the amount of red that had stained the navy blue of the oxford shirt he had on. His entire hand was covered in the crimson liquid, not to mention his face had gone awfully pale in the darkness. "Nate? Nate I need you to stay with me, stay awake." She ordered as firmly as she could. Taking a shaky breath as she nudged his shoulder, trying to keep the man conscious for as long as possible.

"Wha'?" came the barley audible word, muffled by his shallow, labored breathing.

"Nate you need to stay awake. You can't fall asleep yet. Tell me what happened." Anything to get him to stay away, anything to keep him alive. Sophie began to put pressure on his wound, wadding the tucked edges of his shirt and pressing them onto it.

"Came…to get you…three guys…one armed…" He started to nod off again, his eyes still barely open a fraction of an inch.

"Okay, okay what else?" She said loudly, hoping to startle him out of the unconsciousness he was sinking into.

"One of 'em threw me into the wall…got shot…as I was getting into the…elevator.." The last word was so quiet it could have been a sigh. Sophie watched as Nathan's eyelids fluttered, his eyes rolling back into his head as he finally succumbed to the darkness that seemed so welcoming and pain free.

"Nate…_Nate!"_


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything, please don't sue me ^^

**I'm so sorry this update took like...a freaking LIFETIME to make. I'll hopefully be making them more recently as time goes on. I'm going to try to make one every saturday for this story. Thanks for sticking with it you guys! (if you have this long xD) I loved all of your reviews and thank you guys so much! Hope this chapter isn't a disappointment! If you guys want to see any other pairings besides Nate/Sophie and a bit of Hardison/Parker then let me know! **

* * *

"Parker!" Elliot yelled as the thief grabbed the third handful of popcorn from his bowl. _His bowl._ The girl had already had two of her own. There was no way a place could smell more like popcorn than their cabin currently did. She giggled and pranced away from him, his glare doing nothing to suppress the girlish delight she was currently displaying.

"You take one more handful and I'll break your arm." He grumbled and turned his attention back to the movie they were watching; which just so happened to be the new _Star Trek_.

"SHH!" Hardison's wide-eyed excitement from watching one of his favorite movies was quelled only by the other two's bickering. Somewhere between all of this was Tara, propped up in a chair, and reading a romance novel. Between pages 51 and 53 a TV clicker had flown half way across the room and hit Hardison in the head. From pages 54 to 58, Hardison had thrown the clicker back at Elliot and not even a second later, the hacker was pinned to the floor.

"Elliot, get off of Hardison. Hardison, stop being a baby." Tara was turning the page, her eyes scanning her book without really reading it but it obviously gave them the impression that they were acting like children because a second or two later, the hitter was smiling smugly at Hardison who mumbled something about being baby when he was the one pinned to the floor. Elliot barely even noticed that his popcorn had been taken by Parker who was now enjoying it from the counter in the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, Tara had given up on reading her book completely. She could barely get a few words in, let alone a sentence, before she would glance up at the clock.

"When did Nate say he was supposed to be back?" She asked, the mild irritation in her voice alerted them all and soon the entire team was attempting to sneak a glance at the clock to see what time it was.

"An hour ago." Came Elliot's reply. The dark gruff coming from the hitter made Parker hop off the counter and leap into the spot on the sofa next to Hardison. "Nate, Nate are you there?" After a few tries on the comms, Elliot pressed the speed dial on his cell phone. Five rings later and the four of them were silently listening to Nathan's message tone. He tried both at least two more times before Tara was out of her chair and grabbing her coat from the counter she had laid it on.

"Where are you going?" Hardison's voice came from behind her and she whirled around to see all three of them standing before her.

"Where do you think?" She retorted and slipped her purse around her wrist before making a bee-line for the door.

"Nate said to stay here." She almost walked into Elliot as he slipped between her and the knob of the cabin door. They had all agreed that they would remain in the cabin unless something went horribly wrong. "Plus, if you think you're going out there alone, you're nuts." Tara smirked at him as he grabbed his jacket from the rack by the door and motioned for her to lead the way.

"I'm coming too!" Parker yelled and sprinted for the door so she wouldn't be left behind.

"Hardison, stay here incase things go south." Elliot growled before he closed the door. As he watched the van turn away from the house and down the snow covered road, Hardison mumbled a curse and walked to the couch, switched the TV to a channel of his choosing and opened his laptop.

"Everybody there?" He asked as he put the comm. in his ear. A series of confirming voices made him nod to himself a couple of times before he began setting up to track their location and who ever else was around them.

* * *

A glance at the dainty watch on her wrist told Sophie that it was 4:35 a.m. For the last thirty minutes she had been trying to stem the blood coming from Nate's side. At first it seemed hopeless, she had had nothing to use as a bandage, but the inner lining of her jacket seemed appropriately useful. She kept telling herself he would be ok, that he had been through worse; that _they_ had been through worse. Light would not start to peek in through the fog until seven, and winter was not a forgiving season.

"You choose a bloody good time to come after me." She said to the unconscious man in front of her, the rest of her leather jacket propped under his head, the ripped inner-lining under the hand she used to keep pressure to the wound. Luckily it hadn't been a through and through or she would have been dealing with a lot more blood and less chances to get him out of this alive. _Must have been a ricochet_ she thought mutedly, a dull dread welling in the pit of her stomach. He made a noise, soft and barely there before his eyes cracked open just enough to recognize Sophie's presence and know he was still alive. She kept him grounded, her finality so elusive that sometimes, in its paradoxical existence, he felt lost; falling forever. She was a Van Gogh, an abstract piece of art, a thing worth more than his life and he didn't know how to tell her. "Nate?" Her voice is soft, luring him away from a string of thought, her hand weighing gently on his shoulder.

"Soph-" His voice cracked, throat dry, as he tried to sit up; only succeeding in getting his head off the floor of the train car before he was softly pushed back down. _Why is that so easy for her to do?_

"Oh no you don't." Sophie's hand was firm on the middle of his chest, the warmth from her touch sending a shiver down his spine.

"Where are we?" His throat felt like someone had replaced it with sandpaper; dry, rough, and painful.

"I haven't a clue, but we need to get off this train." She watched him blink once slowly and then look her directly in the eye. There were moments when Sophie believed that Nathan could tell you more with his eyes than he could in words and that emotion in those darling blues made her melt. He muttered an 'ok' before lurching upwards too suddenly for her to stop him.

"Nate!" He had already begun to stagger to his feet by the time she got to her own, now supporting him as he swayed; a low groan issuing from his mouth.

"Alright, the team's waiting for us. We need to get to a phone." _Always the man with a plan,_ Sophie met his eye one more time before nodding, a serious look passing between the two as he made a move for the train car door. After careful maneuvering, Nathan let a light smile curve his lips as they stood about two feet from the doorway.

"No." Sophie said instantly, she had already brought herself to the conclusion before the words could come out of his mouth.

"It's the only way." He said softly, a grimace spreading over his face.

"Nate…I'm not jumping out of a train!"

"Yes you are." The finality in his voice gave her a rush of anxiety and she was forced to see the blurred landscape beyond them as it was; a field, some ambient light in the distance over a hill or two. "Come on Soph." He brought his hand out from under his jacket and supported himself against the side of the door before grabbing her hand in his own, and leaping from the locomotive.

* * *

"Guys!" Hardison's voice through the comms brought everyone out of the tense silence in the van. "Police reports are saying that a car explosion just south of us was the result of the vehicle trying to beat a train." Elliot knew where this was going and pressed the gas pedal in order speed up.

"Make and model Hardison?" Tara spoke up, her attention suddenly focused on the road ahead with an intensity Parker had only seen a few times.

"A BMW 3 series, black rental."

Parker's eyes looked like they were going to pop from their sockets, Tara sighed tensely, and Elliot hit the steering column with such force that Hardison thought about asking what had broken. Elliot's jaw clenched and when Hardison failed to give them any information about the passengers, it was Tara who yelled at the Hacker, beating El to the punch.

"Hardison! The passengers?"

"Oh, shit right….uhmmm, there weren't any found." Three simultaneous sighs filled the van.

"Thank God. So where the hell are they?" Tara looked at Parker and Elliot, her face impassive, except for the small bit of concern in her eyes.

Nate knew jumping from the train was going to be painful, but he hadn't known it was going to be this bad. The cold, hard ground had only been softened by the long grass in the field they had jumped into, but that was a small consolation in the aftermath of tumbling head over heels. Nate rolled onto his back with a groan, his arms wrapped around his middle with a hand pressed against the wound at his side. Fighting consciousness seemed the only battle he could fight, despite his dire want to see that Sophie was ok.

Sophie was not used to jumping out of trains. She had never had to and she had hoped, until that moment, to avoid doing such a thing. It wasn't her style. At all. After a moment of assessing any aches and pains she felt after rolling along the ground after jumping, Sophie pushed herself to her knees and looked around.

"Nate?" She said panting, her eyes scanning the dark for the mastermind.

"Here." Came the tight reply as Nate tried to wait out the intensity of the pain from his side. His eyes closed tightly until he heard a rustling in the grass and felt a hand against his face. "You ok?" He asked, opening his blue eyes to see Sophie's worried face looming over him.

"Fine." She answered quickly, watching his tired eyes with concern before noting how sweaty he was, and the blood that still came from his side. "We really need to get you some help."

"What we need is a phone." Ignoring her worry for the time being as he evaluated their situation. Without him hindering her progress, she would be able to make it to town to contact the team, but he knew, with a certainty, that she would never leave him in the middle of nowhere in his condition. If that damn train hadn't hit them, if he'd drove just a little faster, they wouldn't be in this predicament and he would still have the comms unit in his ear.

"Then up you go, Nate. We can't be far from city limits." Her cheery voice was hushed in the early morning. She knew the best chance of not attracting any immediate and unwanted attention would be to get into town before the sun came up. A few uncertain steps and stumbles later, Nate was on his feet and hunched over as he tried to catch his breath. "Nate?" Sophie tilted her head, her hand on his shoulder as he leaned into her.

"I'm good, let's get going."

* * *

"Parker, do we have any credentials that will pass as local police around here?" Elliot asked as he drove towards the site of the accident that Hardison had given them directions to. He was worried that they would have to be bystanders here in England if they didn't.

"I have FBI, Boston PD…..Interpol?" Parker's hopeful and triumphant voice sounded from the back of the van.

"That'll have to do." Elliot replied. "Who do we have?"

"We have Agent Mark Roval," Parker handed Elliot the ID as he drove. "Agent Daphne Harland," She tossed Tara's into her lap. "And Agent Rebecca Collins for me." Parker's smile was growing wide at the hushed complaint made from Tara.

"Daphne? Really? Parker trade me."

"No!" Parker turned her credentials away like a kid protecting a lollipop. A few minutes later they pulled up to the scene and hopped out of the van. Police lines had been drawn, and when they approached, each of them flashed their ID's, respectively giving off a holier-than-thou attitude as they assumed their roles.

"Who the hell are you?" Came a burly looking detective as he rounded on the three as they passed the tape.

"Agent Roval, Harland, and Collins, Interpol." Elliot replied curtly, looking past the big man towards the now steaming pile of burnt BMW. "We're investigating the disappearance of some art recently stolen from the Louvre last Friday. We've been tracking two perps we believe to be here in England. What can you tell us about the scene?" Tara fixed the man with a cold look, whilst Parker looked on pointedly, a smirk on her face.

"You think it's connected to your thieves?" The detective asked skeptically.

"Who else would try to outrun a train?" A million answers to that question came to Tara's mind as she asked it, but she followed up with another, more serious indication to their credibility. "And then run from the crashed car?" She could see the man giving in to their reasoning and he finally told them that there was really nothing to go off of.

"We have a lot of debris, some tire marks on the other side of the tracks, looks like they tried to brake before they went for it anyway, and obviously the burned heap over there." The detective pointed to the various points as he talked, Parker and Tara took a few steps forward, seeming curious as they looked towards the car. But Elliot was bothered by the skid marks. Why would Nate brake hard, and then go for it anyway? He excused himself when his phone began to ring and walked off, ducking under the tape as he answered.

"Roval."

"Elliot?" Sophie's voice came over the line in relief, a smile touching her face as she recognized his voice.

"It's me." He confirmed, a sigh silently exiting his mouth as he walked on towards the van, wanting to put as much distance between unwanted ears and eyes.

"Oh thank God. Elliot, Nate's hurt. He needs help that I can't give him. We're at a gas station just outside of Ashford in Kent County. Have Hardison look it up, I'll leave the payphone on line until he can track it. Hurry."

Elliot knew Hardison had already gotten their location by the time he said goodbye and jogged back to Parker and Hardison.

"Harland! Collins! Boss just called, I gotta go pick him up from the airport. Stay here and see what you can learn." Elliot met the ladies' eyes before he nodded his thanks to the detective and dashed for the van.


End file.
